The book's tone was very similar to Taleb's, Buffett's, and Munger's: brutally honest, realistic, and folksy. Every chapter was filled with amusing stories and anecdotes, illustrating his dirt simple ideas and why people often forget them.

Below are my notes and biggest takeaways. As I read through the book, I saw so many examples of mistakes I had made or traps I had fallen into (like "Nothing new ever works" and the Law of Raspberry Jam), so reading this book was particularly meaningful for me.

1: why consulting is toughSherby's laws1: in spite of what client may tell u, there's always a problem2: no matter how it looks at first, it's always a people problem3: never forget they're paying you by the hour not by the solution4: if they didn't hire u, don't solve their problem 10% promise: never promise more than 10% improvement. If u happen to achieve more, make sure it isn't noticed. Marvin's law: whatever the client is doing, advise something elseCredit rule: you'll never accomplish anything if u care who gets the creditLone Ranger fantasy: when clients don't show appreciation, pretend they're stunned by your performance, but never forget it's your fantasy not theirsLaw of raspberry jam: wider you spread it, thinner it gets. Influence or affluence: take your choice. Weinbergs' law of twins: most of the time, for most of the world, no matter how hard people work at it, nothing of any significance happens. For most systems, prediction of tomorrow is same as today. Rudy's rutabaga rule: once you eliminate your number one problem, number two gets a promotionHard laws of consultingHard law: if u can't accept failure, you'll never succeed as a consultantHarder law: once u eliminate ur number one problem, YOU promote number two. Give up illusion that will ever finish solving problems. Learn to ignore problems. Hardest law: helping myself is even harder than helping others

2: cultivating a paradoxical frame of mind Consultants needed when logic not workingDon't be rational; be reasonablePeople who think they know everything are easiest to foolThe business of life is too important to be taken seriously Optimitis and tradeoff treatmentInability to resist solving problemsCorrect answer: what are you willing to sacrificeTradeoff chartsOne performance measure vs anotherYou don't get nothin for nothinTreatment: let me check my tradeoff chartMoving in one direction incurs a cost in the otherTime trade offsNow vs later: balancing certainty with uncertainty Fisher's fundamental theorem: the better adapted u r, the less adaptable u tend to beRisk vs certainty: different risk appetitesThird time charm: consultants tend to be most effective on the third problem u give themOrange juice test: We can do it--and this is how much it will cost

3 being effective when u don't know what ur doingBolden rule: if you can't fix it, feature itMarvins medical secrets90% of all illness cures itself with no intervention. Deal gently with systems that should be able to cure themselves. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Repeatedly curing a system that can cure itself will eventually create a system that can't. Every prescription has 2 parts: the medicine and the method of ensuring correct useIf what they've been doing hasn't solved the problem, tell them to do something elseMake sure they pay you enough so they'll do what u say. The most important act in consulting is setting the fee. Don't give up the treatment too soon. Don't stick with the treatment too long. Know how pays much less than know when. Featuring failureBolden ruleFaking successGilded rule: if u can't feature it, fake itInverse gilded rule: if something is faked, it must need fixing

4 seeing what's thereLaw of the hammer: The child who receives a hammer for Christmas will discover that everything needs poundingThe study of historyWhite bread warning: if u use the same recipe, you get the same breadStudy other people or group's evolution before suggesting how u can do it betterDon't ask others how to do something; ask them how they did itHistory teaches history teachesIf you don't study history of org then will repeat mistakesBoulding's backward basis: things are the way they are because they got that waySparks law of problem solutionChances of solving a problem decline the closer u get to finding out who was the cause of the problemKeep it simple and not too detailed; you're a consultant not a district attorneyStudy for understanding not criticismLook for what u like in the present situation and comment on itWhy whammyWe may run out of energy or air but not reasonsSeeing beyond the conspicuousThe bigness is not the horseMost of us buy the label not the merchandiseThe name of the thing is not the thingLabel is not full description for understanding Maintenance vs designCreate more specific labels and break things upmisdirection method: using emotionally charged label3 finger rule: when you point finger at someone, notice where other three fingers pointed5 minute ruleClients always know how to solve their problems and always tell the solution in the first five minutes

5 seeing what's not thereBrowns brilliant bequestWords useful but always listen to the music (especially your own internal)Missing toolsAbsence of a tool is evidence of quality problemLook at non-problems to see what's working Reasoning from what isn't thereLevel law: effective problem-solvers may have many problems but rarely have a single dominant problemLook for missing histories and missing requests for helpHow to see what isn't thereFind out what u usually miss in design a tool to ensure that you don't miss it againUse other people like janitorsInvestigate other culturesUse laundry listsRidiculousWeinberg law of fetch: sometimes far fetched is only shortsighted Rule of three: if you can think of three things that might go wrong with your plans then there's something wrong with your thinkingLoosening up your thinking Look for analogiesMove to extremes look outside the boundaryLook for alibis versus explanations The emotional componentIncongruence insight: When words and music don't go together the point to a missing element

6 avoiding traps Titanic effect: thought that disaster is impossible often leads to an unthinkable disaster Staying out of troubleLaws rules and edictsTriggersMain Maxim: what you don't know may not hurt you but what you but you don't remember always doesThe potato chip principle: if you know your audience it's easy to set triggersBuilding your own system of bills that you can't ignoreattach notes to remind uTally cards: Record times of doing something you don't likeUse physical devices use hand signalsMutual trigger pactsUsing your unconscious mindListen to the songs in your headCatchy commercials

7 amplifying your impactTeaching the blind: everyone sees a part of the whole and identifies the whole with that partGetting stuckOrganizational jigglers to unstick systemsGiving speechesAsking questionsLess is moreTeaching others to accept that other views are possiblePpl need shared experiences to be on same communication page

8 gaining control of changeRomer's rule: best way to Lose something is to struggle to keep itPrescott's pickle principle: cucumbers get more pickled than brine gets cucumberedThe system usually wins out against lone battlerA small system that tries to change a big system through long and continued contact is more likely to be changed itselfRoamer's rule: struggling to stay at home can make you a wandererHomer's rule: struggling to travel can make you stay at homeFast food fallacy: no difference plus no difference repeated eventually equals a clear differenceFord's fundamental feedback formula: people can do anything they want as long as they personally have to live with the consequencesWeinberg test: would you place your own life in the hands of this system?

9: how to make changes safelyRhonda's first revelation: it may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusionNothing new ever worksYet people always want something newPandora's Pox: Nothing new ever works but there's always hope that this time will be differentLiving with failureHope caused by marketersDealer's choice: Trust everyone but cut the cardsLet them try whatever they like, but teach them how to protect themselvesAccept failureNew system won't stop failuresFailure is inevitableTrade improvement for perfectionApply rule of 3 to consider how new system can failInvent a backupPreventive medicineEdsel edict: if u must have something new, take one, not twoChoosing your time and place to put change into effectVolkswagen verity: if u can't refuse it (newness), defuse itMake practice runs in similar situationBreak newness into parts to be adopted singlyLet others share in the breaking inRent before buyBuy new models near end of model yearAdd in one at a time, allow a generous breaking in period of lower productivity, give meaningful but not critical work, provide backups for inevitable failures Time bomb: response to these ideas as wasting time: time wounds all heelsSurest way to waste time is to throw caution to the windsRhonda's revelationsIt may look like a crisis but it's only the end of an illusionWhen change is inevitable we struggle most to keep what we value mostUse others' struggle to understand what they value mostWhen u create an illusion to prevent or soften change, the change becomes more likely and harder to takeNever protect PPl from the truth

10: what to do when they resistU can make buffalo go anywhere as long as they want to go thereNaming the resistance in a neutral wayKeep mouth shut. Limit statement to 1-2 short sentences then stop talking. You can keep Buffalo out of anywhere just so long as they don't want to go thereU can make someone move when u hit on something they wantIntroduce element of fantasy in asking what someone would change Find ways to relieve client fears and uncertaintyInsurance Options

11 marketing ur services9th law of marketing: spend at least 1/4 of ur time doing nothing I need more business vs I need more timeBest way to get clients is to have clientsSpend at least one day a week getting exposureClients are more important to you than you can ever be to themNever let a single client have more than one fourth of your businessLynne's law of life: to be able to say yes to yourself be able to say no to any of your clientsThe best marketing tools is a satisfied clientGive away your best ideasIt tastes better when u add your own eggInvolve the client in the solutionKeep slack in schedule

12 putting a price on your headIf they don't like your work, don't take their moneyPricing has many functions only one of which is the exchange of moneyThe more they pay you the more they love youThe less they pay you the less they respect youThe money is usually the smallest part of the pricePricing is not a zero sum gameIf u need the money, don't take the jobMoney is more than pricePrice is not a thing; it's a negotiated relationshipPrinciple of least regret: set the price so u won't regret it either wayAll prices are ultimately based on feelings, both yours and theirs

13 how to be trustedNobody but u cares about the reason u let another person downTrust takes years to win, moments to losePeople don't tell u when they stop trusting uThe trick of earning trust is to avoid all tricksPeople are never liars in their own eyesAlways trust your client and cut the cardsNever be dishonest even if the client request never be dishonest even if the client requests itNever promise anythingAlways keep your promiseGet it in writing but depend on trust

14 getting people to follow your adviceIn spite of your best efforts some plants will dieNever use cheap seeds or ideasA prepared soil is the secret about gardeningTiming is criticalThe plants that hold firmest are the ones that develop their own rootsExcessive watering produces weakness not strength